Music

Whether you are a dance enthusiast, a DJ, instructor, or new to WCS and just looking for music to practice to, this is a great place to find current, appropriate music to dance to!

Even though West Coast Swing is the most versatile partner dance and can be danced to a huge range of music styles, some styles are more dance-able than others. Some speeds are better than others, and some tempos are more appropriate.

Here we will keep a current list of the most popular songs to dance to in each music style.  Please feel free to contribute your music suggestions for the list.

Here is a link to a DJ site which is regularly updated with National WCS DJs’ favourite music

Contemporary/Top 40

Title Artist Speed
Counting Stars One Republic Fast
One More Night Maroon 5 Slow
Troublemaker Olly Murs Fast
Fast Car Wyclef Jean Medium
Seven Nation Army Ben l’Oncle Fast
Talk Dirty Jason Derulo Medium
Crazy for You Hedley Fast
Don’t Ed Sheeran Medium
Crickets Drop City Yacht Club Medium
Don’t Wait Mapei Slow
Latch Sam Smith Medium
Royals Lorde Slow
Maps Maroon 5 Fast
Uptown Funk Mark Ronson Fast
Treasure Bruno Mars Medium
Low Flo-Rida Fast
Titanium Madeline Bailey Medium
Sing Ed Sheeran Fast
Safe and Sound Capital Cities Fast
Pompeii Bastille Fast

Old school classics

Title Artist Speed
Tired of Being Alone Al Green Slow
Thriller Michael Jackson Medium
Think Aretha Franklin Medium
Superstition Stevie Wonder Slow
Signed Sealed Delivered Stevie Wonder Medium
Step in the Name of Love R.Kelly Slow
Skillz All 4 One Slow
Shambala Rockapella Fast
Joy & Pain RobBase/DJ EZ Rock Fast
No Diggity Blackstreet Slow
Get Up Offa That Thing James Brown Medium
Get Down On It Kool Slow
Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough Michael Jackson Fast
Chain of Fools Joe Cocker Medium
Black Velvet Alannah Myles Slow
Black Betty Tom Jones Medium
Billie Jean Michael Jackson Medium
Back to Life Soul II Soul Slow
Aht Uh Mi Head Shuggie Otis Slow
Thuderstruck Remix AC/DC Fast

Slow/smooth

Title Artist
If I Were A Boy Beyonce
Try Pink
Freefallin John Mayer
Back to the Middle India Arie
Give Me One Reason Tracy Chapman
Secret Maroon 5
Son of A Preacher Man Aretha Franklin
Ascention Maxwell
The Way You Make Me Feel Adam Rafferty
I’m The Only One Melissa Etheridge
Chains Tina Arena
Five Women Prince
Tonight John Legend
Reign Bad News Brown
Ode to Billie Joe Bobby Gentry
Madness Muse
Your Body is a Wonderland John Mayer
She Will Be Loved Maroon 5
Magic Cold Play
Whatever Happens Michael Jackson

Blues

Title Artist Speed
Wade in the Water Eva Cassidy Medium
Try Matty’s Aretha Franklin Medium
Signed Sealed Delivered Stevie Wonder Medium
Cold Shot Stevie Ray Vaughan Slow
Soon As I Get Paid Keb’ Mo Medium
Red House Jimi Hendrix Slow
Layla Eric Clapton Slow
I’ll Take You There BeBe & CeCeWinans Medium
If You Want Me to Stay Etta James Medium
How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong James Cotton Fast
Give Me One Reason Tracy Chapman Medium
Fever Elvis Presley Fast
Down in the Valley Otis Redding Slow
Come Back Josh Rouse Medium
Cocaine Eric Clapton Medium
Cleo’s Mood Junior Walker Medium
Blue Bop Johnny Ferreira Slow
BB King & T. Chapman The Thrill is Gone Slow
Alva’s Baby Blues Ray Sharpe Medium
Ain’t No Sunshine D’Angelo Slow

Great songs that aren’t WCS

To DJ’s and those who are curious: You may notice that some of these songs are played at dances intended for West Coast Swing. This can be for one of 2 reasons: 1. To provide a “break” and offer a different dance as an opportunity to so a different dance. 2. To force dancers into frustration as they try to find a Swing beat where none exists.

Title Artist Speed
All for One Bryan Adams NightClub2
Ac-en-tu-ate the positive Aretha Franklin Lindy Hop
Beautiful Christina Aguilera NightClub2
Bie Mer Bist Du Shon Swing Kids Lindy Hop
By your side Sade NightClub2
Come What may Ewan Macgregor NightClub2
Crazy Little thing called Love Queen Lindy Hop
Dance with Me Debelah Morgan Cha Cha
Days go By Dirty Vegas Hustle
Don’t Know Much Aaron Neville NightClub2
Flower that shattered the stone Steve Wariner Waltz
Home Micheal Buble NightClub2
If I were a painting- Kenny Rogers Waltz
Incomplete Backstreet Boys NightClub2
Insatiable Darren Hayes NightClub2
Shout and Feel it Swing Kids Balboa
Sing, Sing, Sing Swing Kids Lindy Hop
Smooth Santana Cha Cha
Open Arms Mariah Carey Waltz
Voice within Christina Aguilera NightClub2